Thanks For Killing Me
by Grounders10
Summary: When the Battle in the Valley of the End goes wrong and Naruto winds up dying. Kyuubi, desperate to leave a legacy, sends him back in time, despite complications. Demon Female Naruto, Good female Kyuubi. Time travel.


-1_**A Naruto Fanfic**_

_**Thanks For Killing Me**_

_**By: Grounders10**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**--Break--**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"**Kyuubi talking"**

'**Kyuubi thinking'**

**--Break--**

**Chapter One**

**--Break--**

**"Child."** A deep voice rumbled through Naruto's mind as he lay staring up at the face of his latest adversary. Sasuke Uchiha, friend, rival, brother, murderer.

'What is it fox?' Naruto asked as his vision blurred and dimmed. Sasuke's mouth was moving, but he couldn't hear anything.

**"I must talk to you."** Kyubi replied from its prison, **"Hurry, there is not much time."**

Naruto frowned mentally, he was too tired to do so for real, before retreating into his subconscious with practiced ease. His vision returned to show a large pair of steel gates. Where there would normally be a keyhole a simple paper seal was plastered to the door, holding back the massive power within. Naruto's eye's were drawn to the large figure moving within. "What do you want furball?" He shouted.

The figure stopped walking around and turned towards him. **"To offer you a way to set things right. A second chance at life." **The nine tailed Bijuu replied, **"I do not want to be released in exchange. That is impossible now. No what I offer will save both our lives, and possibly ensure my legacy as well."**

"What do you mean, ensure your legacy?" Naruto shouted.

**"Calm down, I will get to that. We do not have much time, almost none in fact. What I am proposing is that I send both of us back in time. We can change certain events, or even prevent them from happening. Within reason." **Kyubi said.

"What's the catch Fox?" Naruto asked, eye's narrowing. He wasn't the smartest person, but even he knew that the fox was more likely doing this for its own gain.

**"There are two catches actually. The first is that for this to work you would have to become a demon, for only a demon could survive the journey without losing their memories of everything that happened before they travelled back in time. In essence I would just be condemning myself to watching you make the same mistakes all over again. Leading to this happening once again."**

"That's one, you said two."

Kyuubi walked closer to the front of the cage, allowing the light to shine off of its fur. **"This is the more severe one, for you anyway. There is only one way a mortal can become a demon: Adoption. I would have to adopt you. Demon adoption is different then human adoption. I would literally use my blood to ensure a blood relation. There is one problem with this. By doing so you would become my heir, as I have no children, and the position of Kyuubi.." **Kyuubi trailed off as its body swirled and twisted before rushing into a smaller shape. When it settled the Kyuubi held the body of a young thirty something woman with long red hair, nine red tails, and pointed ears. She was wearing a crimson Kimono. "The Kyuubi is always female. It is impossible for a male to hold the position." She finished calmly.

Naruto stared for several seconds before falling to the ground, clutching his stomach and laughing. "Y-you're a-a-a GIRL!" Naruto stuffed his fist in his mouth to try and stop laughing. It didn't work to well.

Kyuubi's tails twitched with irritation, along with her right hand. "I am being serious here you idiot. Now either you accept this, or we both die. Surely your life is worth the price." She said before gazing at the ground. "I'd change it if I could Naruto." Naruto stopped laughing at the depressed sound of her voice. "I don't want to change you into someone else, but this is the only way you can survive. I don't care if I die, I'm never going to get out of this seal anyway, the Shinigami is too strong, even for me. I've watched as you've gone through life, always showing people you were more then they thought. Always proving them wrong. Naruto…I've come to view you as my son, and I'd like to be able to call you my heir."

Naruto stared at her. This wasn't the Demon Lord… er… Lady from a few minutes earlier. This was a person who was seemed to be pouring their heart out to someone they cared for.

"I don't know why I attacked Konoha, I was in a rage and I can't even remember why, only a pair of eyes a lot like the Sharingan. That's it. Before I always visited the village in my human form, usually spending time with the children. Now no one remembers what I was like before, all they remember is a bloodthirsty demon from hell tricking them before trying to wipe them from the world." A single tear traced its way down her cheek before falling with nary a sound into the water below. She looked back up at him. "Give me a chance." She asked, "One chance to make up for what I did. PLEASE!"

Naruto stared at her, as though truly seeing her for the first time. In a way he was. Before now all he'd seen of her had been a pair of large red eyes in the darkness. "What about your Legacy?" Naruto asked standing once again.

"By having a daughter to carry on my line, and show people that we Kitsune aren't bloodthirsty creatures." Kyuubi said.

Naruto turned this over in his head. It sounded sincere, but after Sasuke he wasn't sure he was the best judge of character. If only old man Sarutobi were here, he'd know what to do. 'But he's not here.' Naruto thought, 'Being a girl Kitsune or dying… That's a dumb question.' He looked up at her. "I'll do it." He said.

Kyuubi smiled. "Good. Now I need you to cut the seal in half vertically so that my chakra can have unrestricted access to your body." She said, seeing Naruto about to protest she explained, "So long as the seal doesn't actually leave the door you could mangle it beyond recognition and I still wouldn't be able to leave the body. However the gate locks my chakra away behind it, preventing me from doing what I need to do for both of us to survive. That is the whole point in this." She glared at him sternly, "Or are you going back on your word?"

Naruto hadn't given his word but in the heat of the moment shouted, "NO! I NEVER GO BACK ON MY WORD! I'LL SHOW YOU!" Pulling a Kunai from his back pocket he charged the gate. Without pause he ran up the side and plunged his Kunai into the crack just above the seal, before allowing gravity to pull him down as his kunai cut the seal in two.

The gates shook for a moment before blasting wide open as red-orange chakra flooded out of the cage. "Thank you Naruto. My daughter." Was the last thing Naruto heard before succumbing.

-- BREAK --

The next thing Naruto saw was a white ceiling. He blinked and pushed slightly against whatever he was lying against. It soft like a bed. Pushing himself up he looked around. It was his bedroom, as it had been six years earlier. "I guess she wasn't lying." He said before starting slightly at his voice. It was much higher then he remembered. Remembering what Kyuubi had said he hopped off the bed he had been lying on.

He wandered through the living room, marvelling at how large everything seemed to be. 'I don't remember everything being so big.' He thought as he entered the bathroom. "I wonder what I look like now." He said aloud, turning to the mirror. Naruto eeped and jumped back into the wall at what he… no… What _She_ saw. The person in the mirror was definitely a girl. A young girl with long hair, but still a girl. "I-I-I I'm a g-girl?" Naruto whispered, lifting a strand of her red hair into her vision.

**"Quite right little one."** Came Kyuubi's melodic voice inside Naruto's head.

'Kyuubi? Wha- What happened?' Naruto thought as she turned around and looked into the mirror over her shoulder.

**"You have become my daughter and heir little one. Finally I have a daughter." **Kyuubi's speech degraded rather quickly into mindless humming.

'Rrrrriiiight. Ok. Do I have to call you Mom now?' Naruto asked as she finished looking at the little girl she'd become.

**"Well I would like that. But I won't force you." **Kyuubi said. Naruto could almost imagine her fiddling with her tails.

'Alright… Mom.' Naruto smiled. She had a mother, this was great, absolutely great. Finally she had someone she could call family. She started dancing back and forth, humming all the while. She was suddenly struck by a thought. 'Mom… What about Old Man Sarutobi? He won't recognize me.' She asked.

**"Go talk to him. Tell him… Tell him you woke up like this. We'll see how he reacts." **Kyuubi instructed her child, **"Now go put on something more appropriate. Boxers and a T-shirt aren't appropriate for a little girl."**

Naruto blushed suddenly at the thought of changing. "Ah… Mom…Do I… Do I have to?" She whined aloud, her shoulders slumping forward.

**'She doesn't realize it but her behaviour makes more sense with this younger body… I wonder… I only woke up after her seventh year and she was acting like this then, and didn't break out of it except for fights…' **Kyuubi thought before answering. **"Yes you do. You'll have to eventually and it would be better to get it over with and get used to it. This is your body now Naruto and you need to get used to it."**

"Alright mother." Naruto groused and slowly walked back to her bedroom, dragging her feet all the way.

-- BREAK --

Thirty minutes later Naruto shut and, with some difficulty, locked the door to her apartment. 'This door is so big. Argh. I hate being shorter.' Naruto thought as she walked out of the building and started towards the large Hokage Tower.

**"You will grow young one. I suspect you will mature a bit faster then your peers, and be taller then most as well." **Kyuubi said, unmasked glee clear in her voice.

'Why are you so happy?' Naruto asked, rolling her eyes, 'I'm the one who should be happy.' Naruto looked around as they walked through the streets. No one was looking at her more then once, probably wondering where her mother was. 'If only they knew.' She thought giggling. She mentally froze for a moment. 'Did I just… Giggle?' She asked Kyuubi.

**"It is to be expected, you are a girl now, and girl are supposed to giggle, not roll on the ground laughing their heads off… unless it's really, really funny." **Kyuubi giggled softly. **'I'm starting to think she had brain damage before. She's much more observant then anytime I can remember. Even when she was fighting Sasuke, or Gaara. For one she wouldn't have picked up the fact that she'd just giggled.'**

'Y-yeah. It's just… Kind of freaky that's all. Freaky…' She shook her head and tilted it back to look at the blue sky overhead. Unfortunately, for her at least, this prevented her from seeing the white bundle of fur that rocketed around the corner before slamming into her stomach, sending her, and it to the ground. "OW!" She yelled as bounced off the ground for a moment. "What was-" She stopped as the white ball of fur on her stomach licked her face and whined. It was a dog. Naruto smiled and scratched the dog just behind the left ear. Its tongue lolled out and it started panting as it leaned into her hand.

"AKAMARU!" Came a familiar voice form around the corner.

Naruto looked at the dog, no more then a puppy really and said, "Your Akamaru aren't you?" The dog whined slightly and Naruto took that as a yes. "Could you get off me?" She asked, not expecting him to listen. To her surprise he complied and leapt off of her. Standing back up she looked at the puppy, no bigger then a paperback book. "Come on. Lets take you to your owner." She said starting towards the corner.

She barely got three steps before a second body hurtled around the corner and slammed into her, knocking her to the ground for the second time in as many minutes. She let out a small 'oof' as the body landed on top of her. It took her a moment for her eyes to focus on the face that was directly in front of hers. It was a boys. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the stripes on each cheek and she realized who had run into her. She blushed when she realized how close they were.

"Are you going to get off me?" She asked trying to push him off.

The boy blushed deeply and, in a feat that would put Jounin to shame, seemingly teleported five feet away, stuttering apologies. She cracked a grin and let out a laugh at his reaction. If anything he blushed harder and stuttered even more. She stopped laughing when he finally shut his mouth. "S-s-s-sorry for laughing. But heehee, you looked so funny." She said between laughs.

"It's not funny." The boy said, turning his head away from her.

"Yes it is." Naruto said before calming down and looking at the boy who ran into her. 'Kiba.' She thought immediately. He was a little shorter then when she had first encountered him the first time around, but that could easily be associated with the fact that she had encountered him a few years from now. "You know it's rude to run into people." She said.

"It's rude to laugh at people." He countered.

**'Hypocritc.' **Kyuubi thought remembering how he had acted before.

"Not when they deserve it." Naruto said sticking her tongue out.

**'I don't believe this.' **Kyuubi thought in exasperation, '**She's behaving like a two year old, not even the six years old that her body is.' "Daughter, behave. Remember you need to talk to the Hokage." ** Kyuubi reprimanded.

'Sorry…' Naruto thought before glancing at her watch and faking surprise. "Oh no. I'm gonna be late!" She cried, "Sorry, gotta go. Bye!" She yelled at Kiba as she blasted past him in the direction of the tower.

Kiba double blinked as she blew past and thought, 'What was that about?' Before he could go after her a whine from his feet caused him to look down. A smile spread across his face as he saw Akamaru. "There you are boy. Come on or sis is going to kill me for running off after you." He said picking up the little white dog.

-- BREAK --

There was one good thing about being Hokage. You could set your own hours. Beyond that it was torture, with paperwork stacks higher then the tallest mountain, and more dangerous then an invasion of Iwa Shinobi. Or so were the thoughts of the Sandaime Hokage as he leaned back into his chair after completing several large stacks of paperwork.

'Finally, I can have a few minutes to myself before the next stack arrives.' He thought, blowing a puff of smoke from his pipe. A creak from his door drew his attention away from his thoughts. A small head poked into the room around the door. 'A little girl?' Sarutobi thought curiously as the red headed girl looked around the room. "Hello child." He said and smiled slightly as the girl jumped at his voice. He noted with surprise that the girl was wearing the exact same type of clothing that Naruto did: Black t-shirt and blue shorts, along with green sandals.

"Old man!" The little girl squealed as she darted towards him, before launching herself at him and getting into his lap.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at this. It was almost like this girl knew him, and knew him well. "Do I know you child?" He asked kindly, privately wondering why he hadn't seen her before, red hair was rare after all.

It was apparent almost immediately that these were the wrong words to say. Tears started to gather in the girls eyes and she buried her head in Sarutobi's chest as she started bawling. "Y-y-you t-to o-old man?" She sobbed out, "I w-woke u-up an-and n-no one r-rememb-bers m-me."

Both of the Hokage's eyebrows rose at this. 'It can't be…' He thought as he looked at her. After a moment a flare of recognition flashed through his brain. 'She looks like Kushina.' "Naruto?" He asked aloud.

The little girl stopped sobbing and looked up, a bright and happy smile on her face. "You remember!" She squealed, hugging him tightly.

"I should ask how you managed this child but it would appear you don't even know something happened." He said with a small smile,

"Happen?" Naruto asked, confusion sliding across her face.

"It is not that people do not remember you, it is that they do not recognize you for who you really are." He said. He sighed as confusion remained on Naruto's face. "Naruto you do not look like you did when you visited yesterday. For one thing your hair is red, bright red, not blond."

Naruto blinked and pulled a strand of hair into her vision. "You mean my reflection isn't broken?" She said looking up at him.

Sarutobi stared down at her for a second before laughing. "No Naruto, your reflection is not broken." He said.

"Th-then I-I'm a g-girl?" She asked, choking on the words as tears threatened to pour down her cheeks.

"I will have to have a doctor examine you, but, yes I suppose you are." He said stroking her hair. 'So much like Kushina.' He thought.

"So that's why everyone was so nice to me?" Naruto asked, "They didn't know it was me. I thought they might have started to like me."

Sarutobi smiled sadly. "It's alright Naruto. Now, do you remember anything from before you went to sleep that might have caused this." He asked.

"Um…" Naruto screwed up her face in concentration, "Nope." She said shaking her head.

"I see… Do you remember anything after you fell asleep?" He asked.

"Uh… hmm… There was a weird dream…" She scratched her head as she tried to remember, "I was in a large room and there were bars half way across it. There were big red eyes behind it. There was a voice to… um… It said 'Be happy I deem you worthy to be my heir, you are now my daughter.' Then this big red cloud came from behind the bars and rushed into me." Naruto chose that moment to grip tightly to the Hokage and let out a small whimper.

"Sshh. It's alright Naruto. Your safe." Sarutobi told the little girl in his lap. Inside he was panicking. The kyuubi had caused this, that he was sure of, but the question was why, not who. After a moment he calmed down and thought about what this could allow. He liked what he saw. "Naruto this might be a good thing. Now before I continue I think I should tell you why everyone doesn't like you."

Naruto looked up. "Why don't they? Why?" She begged.

The Hokage took a deep breath before launching into his explanation, "Six years ago Konoha was attacked by a powerful demon, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. It was said that a single sweep of its nine tails could crush mountains and raise massive tsunamis in the ocean. The tale that is taught in the academy, and that people are told, is that it was destroyed. This, however, is not true." He looked down at the girl, "A demon of that power could not be destroyed, instead it was sealed into a little boy. You."

Tears welled up in Naruto's eyes. "N-NO! IT'S NOT TRUE! NOT TRUE!" She shouted at him.

"Naruto. You are not the demon." Sarutobi said forcefully, causing Naruto to shut her mouth rather quickly, "You are you and the demon is sealed away. However, it would appear that it is not as secure as I thought. What you saw in your dream is probably the inside of the seal. I think it changed you into the next nine tailed demon." He held up a hand to stop her from shouting, "I must tell you what I remember of the Kyuubi, or Michiru as she preferred to be called when she visited in her human form. You see she was a common sight around here, then one day she went berserk and all her good deeds went out the window and people were taught of the bloodthirsty monster we know today. She did tell me one thing that sticks out. She always wanted a daughter to succeed her and I think she was desperate enough to change you into that daughter."

"Change me?" Naruto tilted her head the side like a dog would.

"The only way I can think of is adoption. But this is all just me making assumptions. I could be completely wrong. So lets not talk about that. What we need to talk about is how do we deal with your situation. You're a girl now, and no one would believe you to be who you were before." Sarutobi watched as Naruto absorbed this before continuing, "Naruto… How about I give you a new name, after all Naruto isn't much of a girls name, and people would make connections, since it is a rare name." Sarutobi lifted Naruto off his lap and put her on the desk, off to one side, before fishing out a piece of paper and a pen.

Naruto watched curiously as the Hokage wrote down a long list of possible names. "Ok." He said as he put down the pen, "How about… Haruka?"

"hmm… No." Naruto said.

"Alright." Sarutobi crossed the name off before reading the next… and the next… and the next one after that. He kept reading them off, but the answer he received was always no. Eventually they reached the last name on the list, one which he had written down but never thought they'd actually reach. "How about this one… Kushina?" 'Oh please don't chose this one… It would be too much for me.' Sarutobi thought.

Naruto pondered it for a moment be nodding and saying, "I like it."

'I wonder which Kami I made angry? Or was it a Demon?' The Sandaime thought glumly. "A good name." He said aloud, "Though I didn't expect you to choose it." The newly named Kushina stared at him.

"Why?" She asked curiously.

A smile tugged at the elderly Hokage's lips. "Because… It was your mother's name." He said. Kushina's eyes went wide before rolling up into the top of her head as she fell over in a dead faint. Sarutobi chuckled slightly as he caught her after she fell off the desk. "I didn't think she'd faint." He said aloud as he lay her on the table before summoning one of his ANBU.

A swirl of leaves in the middle of the room settled down to reveal a kneeling figure. The figure was obviously female and wore the standard ANBU uniform. Her mask was stylized to look like a sparrow. At about 5' 2" she was only a little bit shorter then the Hokage. She raised her head. "You called Lord Hokage?" She asked.

"I did. If you would please bring Kushina here to the hospital, I will being heading there shortly." He said.

"I will do so immediately Lord Hokage." Sparrow said before gathering the child in her arms and vanishing whirlwind of leaves.

The Sandaime breathed out deeply as they vanished. "Now how do I break the news?" He asked himself aloud, "I cannot leave her questions unanswered." He sighed again, "To borrow Shikaku's phrase 'How troublesome.'"

--BREAK--

Kushina awoke inside her mindscape. It was definitely different then the last time she was there. For one thing it looked more like the bedroom of a daimyo. A rich and powerful one at that. She was on a large bed with red and white silk sheets. As she glanced around she noted that the walls were lined with bookshelves, the only opening being for a single doorway. A lamp on the bedside table provided the only source of illumination in the whole room.

"Well someone likes books too much." Kushina said looking around.

"There isn't anything wrong with liking books Kushina!" Came a familiar stern voice from the door as it opened. Michiru, the Kyuubi, stepped through and gazed at her adopted daughter. "Would you mind explaining just why you fainted?" She asked.

"Well I…" Kushina began nervously, "I was just shocked that the name I chose belonged to my mother… Birth mother."

Michiru sighed. "Alright, just don't make a habit of fainting, or you'll turn into Hinata." She said before walking over to the bed and sitting down next to her daughter, "Now would you like to know why we're in your mind and not the seal?"

"This isn't the seal?" Kushina asked looking around. Now that it was mentioned Kushina started to note the differences. For one thing she definitely didn't remember books in the seal.

Michiru stared at the little girl. 'S-she didn't notice?' She thought, thoroughly stunned. "You didn't know?" She asked aloud.

Kushina shook her head. "Nope."

Kyuubi sighed and ran a hand through her red hair. "Kushina… When I made you my daughter your mind, and the seal, granted me access to your mind. I can't change anything other then how it is visualized, but now at least there isn't a giant pool of water." She said grinning down at her daughter, who smiled back tentatively. "Now while you're here I might as well tell you your schedule until you join the academy next year. I seem to remember waking up in your seventh year, just before you joined the academy, so that means we can get a head start. First we'll start with bringing you up to speed with your book learning."

Kushina let out an exaggerated groan. She hated books, math and really anything to do with thinking things through. "Why?" She whined.

"Because I will not have a daughter who doesn't know anything." Michiru said with a heated glare.

Kushina gulped slightly. Her new mother was scary. "O-okay." She stuttered.

Michiru's face softened. "Now I won't be teaching you any Jutsu or working on your taijutsu until the academy. Your already much farther along in those area's then others your age. However…" Her smile turned evil, reminding Kushina why her mother was known as the most powerful demon. "I will be starting you on weights."

"Weights?" Kushina asked, not liking the sound of it.

"Yes weights. Similar to those of Rock Lee." Michiru said.

"OH! Those were the things Bushy Brows took off when he fought Gaara!" The little girl shouted.

Had this been an anime Michiru would have sweat dropped. As it was she settled for an exasperated sigh. "Yes Kushina dear, those were weights. We'll be starting you off on something much lighter though. You can't increase the weight too fast, or you'll risk damaging your body." 'Oh this is so time consuming. Damn those academy fools, she should at least know half of this.' The Kyuubi thought in frustration.

"Oh…um… when can I wake up?" Kushina asked eagerly.

'And in an instant she switches from semi-serious to bored out of her mind. If this happens too much I'm going to have a stroke by the time she's ten. Maybe a heart attack. Or maybe I'll just have migraines for a few years, yes that sounds better.' She thought, 'Why did I propose this? Oh right we were dying.' "Anytime." Michiru said, "All you need to do is will it. You can come back here at anytime, but if you do your body will faint, and you'll fall to the ground."

"Will it…" Kushina muttered, not paying attention to anything after 'will it.' With a flash of light she vanished.

"Or this maybe the best time I've ever had." Michiru voiced aloud, before sighing, "That's if she doesn't get us both killed."

--3 Hours Later--

"_Growing Mold for Dummies _… no…." Sarutobi muttered as he ran his hand down a row of books. "_Ninjutsu For Ninja's… _no…" His hand stopped on a red and orange book whose spine looked brand new, and the words emblazoned on it in gold weren't even aged. "Ah! Here it is _Uzumaki-Namikaze Clan Codex._" He gently removed it from the shelf and cradled it in his hands.

'I am sorry Minato.' The Hokage thought, 'But your instructions were clear, it doesn't matter that she's only six.' He ran a hand over the front cover. "I hope she makes good use of this." He said aloud, fiddling with the metal clasp that held it shut. The book wasn't all that big… in comparison to some summoning scrolls he'd seen. To be perfectly honest the book was thicker then his arm, and each page was bigger then his head, both in height and width.

He turned towards the door when a large poof of smoke annoiced the arrival of the ANBU member he had sent with Kushina. "She is awake Lord Hokage." The ANBU said.

"Thank you Sparrow. You may go now." Sarutobi said before forming a single hand seal and disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

--Hospital--

Kushina stirred and opened her eyes slowly. The sight that greeted her was one she had grown used to during her tenure as Genin. 'Why do I always wake in a hospital room?' She thought looking around at the drab white surroundings. It looked like any other hospital room she'd been in. White walls, floor, and bed. A single light on the ceiling to provide illumination at night when the sun went down. A window was right next to her bed, allowing her to look out at the area in front of the hospital. Judging from the lighting it was almost lunchtime. 'I fainted and slept till lunch.' She turned over and lay on her stomach, head propped up on one hand.

"Why am I the one who always winds up in the hospital." She moped, "Why can't it be someone else for a change."

**"Because you have a tendency to be very reckless." **Came her mother's chiding reply.

'You could stop me you know.' Groused Kushina. She was a lot more confident outside her mindscape, or so it appeared to her mother.

**"You wouldn't listen to me."** Michiru said.

'True.' Kushina sat up and looked out the window. The sun gleamed off several nearby windows, causing her to squint. She watched as people walked around, doing whatever it was they needed to do. 'I love it here.' She placed a hand up against the glass. "I will be Hokage!" She declared aloud.

"Will you now?" Came a voice from the door behind her.

She turned around so fast she toppled off the bed and smacked her head against the floor. "Ow." She whimpered sitting up and rubbing her head as she looked up at the person who had startled her. It was the Sandaime. "Old Man!" She cried, "Don't sneak up on me."

Sarutobi managed to stifle his laughter before he voiced it and smiled down at her. "I didn't mean to scare you Kushina. Now I have something for you." He said and knelt down to her level. He beckoned her forward and came, curious as to what he had. He had his hands held behind his back, and slowly brought them forward, revealing the book he'd retrieved from his library. He noted with silent laughter that the book was almost as big as Kushina herself.

"What is it?" She asked, trying to take it from Sarutobi, and succeeding in crushing herself beneath the book. "Eep. Help! Get it off!" She said trying to push it off of her.

Sarutobi started laughing as he lifted the book with little effort. "This is your clan's history and jutsu's. Inside is everything that has happened to your clan, clans actually. You see your mother was the last of her clan, as was your father, so they combined the two clans into one." He said laying the book on he ground.

Kushina kneeled down next to it and looked it over. "How do I open it?" She asked after several minutes.

The Hokage smiled and pulled out a kunai which he lay in front of Kushina before pointing to a seal on the clasp. "That is a blood seal, place a little bit of your blood upon it and it will unlock. This is the same way that you'd unseal or seal items, however only someone with your blood can do this. Do you understand?" He asked.

Kushina paused for a moment before nodding and cutting her finger on the knife. She whimpered slightly at the pain. Her skin seemed a lot more sensitive then she remembered. Taking her cut finger she wiped a small amount of blood on the seal. With a loud click it popped open. Setting aside the kunai she flipped open the first page with only a little bit of difficulty.

On the first page was a large painting. It showed someone looking out over the ocean from the top of a cliff. A massive whirlpool was in the middle of the ocean, while large waves crashed against the bottom of the cliff, and the shore of a far off island. Trees were visible on the sides of the painting. At the bottom of the painting a small signature was written at the bottom, K. Uzumaki.

"Your mother's work I believe." Sarutobi said, "She was an accomplished painter as well as a Kunoichi. Flip the page." He urged.

Kushina flipped the page. Table Of Contents was written across the top of the page. Most of the contents were blacked out, with only the Jutsu section and several parts of the history section visible. "Um… why is most of it black?" She asked quizzically.

Sarutobi looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I think your father only meant for you to read those sections later, when your older. Knowing your father he undoubtedly designed a seal that will unlock each section as time goes on. For now lets shut the book, you can look at it later." He said.

Kushina nodded and with a little effort flipped the book shut. "Where do I put it?" She asked.

"I'll show you." Sarutobi said, "I think its time you moved out of that dingy little apartment. Your parents left you a nice home. I think its about time you moved into a nicer place then your apartment."

--Six years later, Genin Exam day, Classroom 100--

Kushina stared at the board with glazed over eyes. Why did her name have to be at the bottom of the list? Why? Kushina was waiting for her turn enter the examination room for the final portion of the exam, Ninjutsu.

Kushina snorted quietly in disdain. 'They call the Clone Jutsu a important tool, who are they kidding?' She thought.

**"It can be. Remember-"** Michiru started to say.

'An E-Rank Jutsu can defeat an S-Rank if used correctly. Yeah, yeah. I know.' Kushina thought before stretching. Several of the boys in the class started drooling at the sight. Kushina was surprisingly well developed for a twelve year old. She was 4' 6" tall and her chest was easily comparable to several well know Kunoichi in the Village, Kurenai and Anko came to mind when she thought about it. She wore a tight fitting black shirt with a dark green vest that had several scrolls tucked into its various pockets. The shirt left her midriff exposed. She wore a dark green mini-skirt and form fitting black shorts beneath.

**"Don't look now but I think you might be causing a few heart attacks if you do that again."** Michiru told her daughter.

'Good.' Was all Kushina thought as she finished her stretch. She ignored that various glares from the other girls around the room. Kushina noted that Sakura was glaring at her the hardest of all of them. 'What did I see in her again?' Kushina asked her mother.

**"Attention, maybe acknowledgement."** She replied.

'There's good attention and bad attention.' Kushina thought, 'I must have been an idiot not to notice the difference.'

**"Dear, you were an idiot."**

Kushina pouted internally. 'Maa… Mom! Don't be so mean!' She whined in her head.

**"Well you were."**

'I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day.' Kushina said and temporarily severed the connection.

**"Don't you dare! Kushina! KUSHINA!" **Michiru thundered angrily at her daughter and heir. **"I AM YOUR MOTHER DAMN IT!"** Michiru fumed. **'She must have cut the connection. Damn it I wish she hadn't discovered that. How am I supposed to raise her if she can just cut me off like this!' **She though angrily.

Kushina smirked at the silence in her head. Ahh the joys of silence, something she rarely got to enjoy with her mother constantly snooping around inside her head.

"Kushina Uzumaki!" Called Iruka from the front of the classroom.

Kushina looked up startled. It was her turn already? They hadn't even reached H yet when she'd started talking to her mother. Getting up she made her way to the front of the room.

"This way Kushina." Iruka said leading her into another room. He walked across the room and sat next to his assistant, Mizuki. Kushina stood in the middle of the room. "Alright Kushina, three clones." He said.

"That's it?" She asked, pretending to be surprised.

"Is it too hard for you?" Mizuki sneered. He hated the girl, something about her grated him.

Kushina simply smiled at him. "No, I was just surprised it was so simple." She said forming the seals for the Jutsu. Six clones faded into existence around her without so much as a puff of smoke.

"Well done Kushina." Iruka said picking up a headband from the table before walking over to her and placing it in her hand.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei." She said before tying it at her waist like a belt and walking out of the room with Iruka.

--Ten minutes later--

"Alright, that's everyone." Iruka said as he and Mizuki re-entered the room. Iruka walked up to the front of the room. He smiled up at everyone. "Well done everyone. This is the largest class to pass since the Shinobi Wars. Considering the standards are higher now that is quite the achievement. I expect everyone to do well in the coming years. Orientation will be in two days time. I'll see you then."

Kushina didn't move from her seat until nearly everyone else had left. Her eyes were riveted on Mizuki. 'Is he going to do anything this time around? No one failed… and since the so called 'demon' vanished…' She thought. She needed to know what he was going to do, she couldn't let the Forbidden Scroll leave the village, it was called a Forbidden Scroll after all. 'Hey Mom… Mom?' Kushina tried to contact her mother. 'Why isn't she- oh right.' Kushina stood up and made her way to the door before she started to look suspicious. Reopening the connection she thought, 'Mom.'

**"ABOUT DAMN TIME!" **Came her mother's angry reply, **"YOU DO NOT DO THAT TO YOUR MOTHER!"** Michiru was angry, pissed off, and if possible, breathing fire. **"THE NEXT TIME YOU DO THAT YOU I WILL USE A GRAVITY SEAL ON YOU TO MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO MOVE! YOU HEAR ME!"**

Kushina winced and the volume and anger in her mother's voice. She leaned against a tree in the academy yard and sighed. 'Sorry mom… Listen it's about Mizuki.' She sent.

**"Your worried about him stealing the scroll tonight?"** Michiru asked.

'Yeah, something was off about him tonight, so I was thinking I should stake out the tower tonight. Just in case.'

**"That's not a bad idea. Since he's only mid-chunin you should be able to bring him down with a little effort." **Michiru said.

'I better head home and rest, I'll need it if I'm to stay away all night.' Kushina thought before leaping into the tree above her then to a nearby rooftop. A few seconds later she was bounding across the rooftops in the direction of her ancestral home. It was located in one of the richer districts in Konoha, right between the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan properties actually. She loved the house. It was three stories tall and could probably house twenty people, but that wasn't what she loved. What she loved was the underground area of the house.

The basement of the house held a small library with hundreds of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Fuinjutsu, or Sealing Arts. It also held dozens of texts, scrolls and books, on the uses of herbs and other naturally found substances to make poisons and antidotes. This is what had caught Kushina's eye the most, thus why her Kunai holster wasn't filled with Kunai, but with colour-coded Senbon needles that were coloured depending on what poison or substance was on them.

Kushina landed lightly in front the entrance to her house and quickly unlocked it. She slipped inside and shut the door. She leaned against the door and sighed. 'Finally.' She thought before forming a seal with one hand and muttering "Release." All at once both of her ears became blurry and migrated to the top of her head before becoming a pair of furry fox ears. A red fox tail grew from just above her skirt where it hung down to her knees. She sighed again in relief. 'Ooh that feels so much better… Damn it I've cramped my tail again!' She cursed slightly at the pain in her tail as she removed her shoes before moving into the living room.

Kushina sat down on the couch before taking her tail in her hands and starting to massage it. She sighed happily as the pain subsided. A purr rose from her throat as she continued rubbing her tail. Stopping she let go of her tail and sighed. Now wasn't the time, she'd need to get some sleep if she was to keep an eye on the tower all night long. 'Good thing there's an entire day between now and team assignments.' Stretching her arms above her head she made her way for the second story.

She entered the master suite and quickly made her preparations for bed. Sliding under the covers of the bed she sighed as she burrowed into the pillows. Her ears twitched slowly as she slowly drifted to sleep. They stilled as she finally lost consciousness.

--Later that night--

Kushina counted the Senbon in her pouch one last time before attaching it to her leg. 'This is it.' She said to her mother.

**"Good luck, and try not to die." **Michiru said, a smile in her voice.

'Oh thank you for the overwhelming confidence.' Kushina replied sarcastically as she attached her forehead protector to her waist and headed to the door.

**"I'm trying to be realistic. You haven't fought anyone above genin level in six years." **Michiru said, **"Don't be over confident, remember he'll be better then anyone you've faced in the last six years."**

'Yes mom.' Kushina said sarcastically as she locked the door behind her, 'I'm not some academy student, I can easily handle Mizuki, I did before.'

**"You were the dead last last time. Not the Kunoichi of the Year." **Michiru said, **"He'll expect more from you then he did last time."**

'I also wasn't a demon Princess last time either. I'm far better then I was before. Just let me handle it, if he even does anything.' Kushina told her mother with exasperation before once again cutting her connection with her mother. She needed a clear head, not constant and irritating reminders.

--Author's note--

This story has been in the works for months, nearly ten months if not a full year actually. I've forgotten some aspects of my original idea, but that must mean they weren't that great so I'll just have to come up with some new ideas.

Again reviews are welcome but remember all criticism must be constructive. All flames will be fed to the Kyuubi, who will then be released upon your town/village or city. Note: I'm talking about the NORMAL Kyuubi, not the good one in this fic.

AU's. Oh I love it when people use this to describe their story. Of course it's an Alternate Universe, if I wanted the original universe I'd read the Manga. ALL Fanfics are AU so stop describing stories as AU, it's redundant.


End file.
